Bengals fans will hate Al Michaels' complete lack of enthusiasm on wild Ja'Marr Chase TD
By Ryan Heckman
Going into Thursday Night Football, the Cincinnati Bengals faced a tough task. It was an AFC North battle, which are typically of the intense, physical and nitty gritty caliber. The Baltimore Ravens were hosting these Bengals who were looking to get back to .500 on the season.
After notoriously starting the season slow, Joe Burrow and company had won three of four. So, this was a big game. Of course, Cincinnati wouldn't have been mathematically eliminated regardless of the outcome in this one. Still, it was a big game.
Every AFC North game is a big game.
But, this one felt even bigger, still, because of how well Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and the Ravens have been playing this year. It wouldn't be an easy task. This was one that the Bengals would have to truly get up for.
For the majority of the first half, Cincinnati essentially dominated. And then, in the third quarter, Burrow and the offense made a statement.
Well, actually, it was mostly the work of Ja'Marr Chase that made this moment happen. Burrow hit Chase in the middle of the field for what was about a 20-yard passing play, but then, Chase turned it into a magic show.
Chase somehow navigated his way in front of about five Ravens defenders, total, on his way to what ended up being a 67-yard touchdown. It was as exciting a play as fans had seen all night, and if you were watching on the live broadcast thanks to Amazon Prime, you might not have known it was such a big play.
For example, had you been looking away or made a quick trip to the refrigerator, you normally would have missed any high-octane reaction by the commentating crew. Instead, Al Michaels reacted in a less-than-rambunctious manner.
Chase did something of the gods, and Michaels essentially called it as if it were a "pretty good" first down conversion. See and listen for yourself.
Ja'Marr Chase was once again torturing the Ravens, as he typically does
To that point on the night, Chase had totaled five receptions for 119 yards and that impressive touchdown. The way he looked against the Ravens in Week 10 was no surprise, though, because he's had some of his best performances against Baltimore.
His last 100-yard game? You guessed it -- against these very same Ravens, back on Ocober 6 of this year. He caught a whopping 12 passes for 193 yards and two scores in that one.
Over the course of his career, not counting this contest, Chase had caught 47 passes for 698 yards and five touchdowns in seven total games.
It's safe to say that "November Burrow" and Chase, when against the Ravens, are one lethal combination.